INDEPENDENT LENS 1971

Air date: Mon., May 18, 10:00 pm

On March 8, 1971, a band of suburban parents, university professors and community leaders broke into a small FBI field office in Media, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia. Calling themselves the Citizens’ Commission to Investigate the FBI, the eight activists took hundreds of secret files and shared them anonymously with select members of Congress and the news media. By doing so, they uncovered evidence of the FBI’s vast and illegal regime of spying on and intimidating American citizens. Despite one of the largest investigations ever conducted, the FBI never solved the mystery of the break-in, and the identities of those responsible remained a secret – until now. For the first time, the members of the Citizens’ Commission have spoken out. This film tells their story.